Notes: The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Part I: The Innocent Muse

The Portrait: The talented artist Basil Hallward paints a full-length portrait of the strikingly beautiful and innocent young Dorian Gray.
Lord Henry’s Influence: At Basil’s studio, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a cynical aristocrat who espouses a philosophy of “New Hedonism,” claiming that youth and beauty are the only things worth living for.
The Fatal Wish: Terrified of aging, Dorian utters a fateful wish: that he could remain young while the portrait bears the marks of time and his sins instead.
Sybil Vane: Dorian falls in love with a young, talented actress named Sybil Vane. However, after he brings Basil and Henry to see her perform, she acts poorly because her love for Dorian has made her realize the “hollowness” of the stage.
The First Change: Dorian cruelly rejects Sybil, telling her she has killed his love. When he returns home, he notices a touch of cruelty in the mouth of his portrait. Sybil commits suicide shortly after.

The Hidden Room: Following Lord Henry’s advice to view Sybil’s death as a “theatrical tragedy,” Dorian embraces a life of sensory pleasure. He hides the portrait in a locked attic to conceal its physical decay.
The Yellow Book: Lord Henry gives Dorian a “poisonous” French novel that chronicles the life of a man seeking every possible sensation. This book becomes Dorian’s blueprint for the next 18 years.
The Social Ruin: As the years pass, Dorian remains physically flawless, but rumors circulate about his “corrupting” influence. Many of his friends are socially ruined or driven to suicide after associating with him.
The Murder of Basil: Basil Hallward confronts Dorian about these rumors. Dorian shows Basil the hideous, rotting figure in the portrait. When Basil begs him to repent, Dorian, overcome by a sudden burst of hatred, stabs Basil to death.
Disposing of the Evidence: Dorian blackmails an old friend, a chemist named Alan Campbell, into using chemicals to dissolve Basil’s body.

James Vane’s Revenge: Sybil’s brother, James, hunts Dorian down to avenge her death. He is nearly successful but is momentarily fooled by Dorian’s youthful face. James is later killed accidentally during a hunting party.
A Failed Attempt at Virtue: Dorian decides to “be good” and spares a young girl’s heart to see if the portrait improves. Upon checking the painting, he sees that the face has become even more hypocritical and loathsome.
The End of the Mirror: In a fit of rage and desperation to destroy the evidence of his soul’s decay, Dorian stabs the portrait with the same knife he used to kill Basil.
The Transformation: A crash and a scream are heard. The servants enter to find the portrait restored to its original, beautiful state. On the floor lies a withered, wrinkled, and “loathsome” old man with a knife in his heart, identifiable only by his rings.